In one advantageous use, a monopod stationarily supports and allows a portable camera to be held steadier than, for example, in a photographer's hands, allowing the photographer to take sharp, clear pictures at slower shutter speeds, and/or with longer focal length lenses, and also reduces camera hand shake and small random hand movements. Monopods are easier to transport and quicker to set up than conventional tripods for supporting cameras, making the monopods preferable for action shots and on-the-go (OTG) photography. Camera height adjustment is typically performed by having the photographer manually unlock, and manually extend and/or retract, one or more telescoping sections of the monopod linearly lengthwise of the monopod to a desired camera elevation or height, and then manually locking the extended/retracted section(s) at the desired camera height. In many cases, however, one or both of the photographer's hands are already occupied with holding the camera and/or lenses and/or filters and/or like optical/imaging accessories. As a consequence, the photographer may not always have a hand free to manually and quickly extend and/or retract the monopod, especially when a rapid picture setup and action shots are desired.
Accordingly, it would be desirable to enable a monopod to be more readily, rapidly, and conveniently extended and/or retracted to a desired camera height to promote its use, especially by a photographer even when one or both of the photographer's hands are already occupied.
Skilled artisans will appreciate that elements in the figures are illustrated for simplicity and clarity and have not necessarily been drawn to scale. For example, the dimensions of some of the elements in the figures may be exaggerated relative to other elements to help to improve understanding of embodiments of the present invention.
The monopod and its components have been represented where appropriate by conventional symbols in the drawings, showing only those specific details that are pertinent to understanding the embodiments of the present invention so as not to obscure the disclosure with details that will be readily apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art having the benefit of the description herein.